Part 2: Brow Raising Experience - My Adventure of a 2-year-investment EyeBrow Tender Treatment (similar to embroidery but NOT tattoo)

This is a continuation from Part 1 of my brow raising experience: http://suesanctuary.blogspot.com/2011/06/part-1-brow-raising-experience-my.html

As shown in the pix: The offer on mydeal which made me one of the 38 'unsuspecting' customers who bought the RM99 voucher for eyebrow tender session (they claimed it's more natural than eyebrow embroidery) - and for only RM99, I thought why not? I've asked around and the nearest beauty salon in my area offered it for RM430 for 3 sessions, but I backed out because the lady beautician who did her colleagues eyebrow definitely did not do a good job as her eyebrows look really weird!!!

Anyway, I bought this mydeal offer for RM99 in February and waited till May before I made that phone call to make appointment as the expiry date for the voucher was on June 2nd, 2011. It is now or never, or else my RM99 will just be burned. I was asking around AGAIN after I purchased the deal, and the 'pain' stories kinda freaked me out.

So I asked hubby to accompany me to that part of Kuala Lumpur that is kinda far from my place, cos I didn't know what to expect after the first session and was scared I couldn't drive cos my colleague said I'd better get someone to drive me home because she felt like her "eyebrows were being boxed repeatedly that you have a huge headache afterwards". Luckily it felt nothing like that! Maybe a dull tightness around your brows but overall the first session was okay.

Anyway, when I reached their Kuchai Lama outlet, they promised me that it will be over within an hour, so hubby read his book at Oldtown White Coffee just opposite the road. They lied. The aggressive selling and trying to convince me to take on packages and me negating them, etc, took nearly half an hour - by the time I was done with everything, it was over 2 hours and hubby was becoming impatient.. sorry hubby!!!

Anyway, I feel kinda cheated cos the RM99 is only for ONE session and we usually need at least TWO sessions for the process to be 'perfected'. They then offered me a RM488 package which comprises THREE sessions that won't be expiring anytime soon, and is good to use two years down the line.  I redeemed my voucher at their Kuchai Lama outlet and they are saying if they have new outlets nearer to my place, I can go for treatments/sessions elsewhere too.

It says here it uses a machine-process but the only 'machine' I saw when the cotton pads are taken off my eyes are a needle which the first 'specialist' Sophia, refused to show me - my second touch-up saw a nice guy specialist (I forgot his name!!!) who showed me the needle - 14 fine needles, or was it 16, microneedles that poke on your skin!

Like it or not, I don't wanna end up with not-balanced-results with only the first session, so I signed up for the package with the assurance that I can use the balance two sessions (after the two sessions) by 2013, hence I consider it an 'investment'. I already have the RM99 voucher which entitles me to one session, so top up with another three sessions, I'm good for two sessions this year and another two sessions in 2013.

They tried to sell me a RM998 or nearly 1k (forgot the exact price) of a 3D very natural brows package - mind you, that is only for 3 sessions... I was like thinking "are you crazy"? I politely but firmly said no, I only want the eyebrow tender 3D session. We are supposed to continue to trim our brows anyway after either session, so why go for the super expensive one?

The small ampoule I got for 'Free' from the male consultant, SAM, cos I was comparing them to Bluunis, which gives a better package. I then realised that if you buy 'ala carte', that one ampoule of FGF costs RM38 and you are supposed to apply on your brows after the session so that the healing/colour sticking process can be better, more vibrant colours, etc.  Bluunis offers the gel for free as part of the package.

Immediately after the session - my sister said they looked like caterpillars. Ala-Crayon Shin Chan

 

Day 2

Day 2

Day 3

Close-Up Day 3

Day 3 - Close-up

Day 3 Close-Up

Day 3

The colour is dark brown and there is this layer of CAKE, I call it 'cake' cos it feels like mud sticking on it, cakey feeling.

My mum said the shapes are irregular, but then again, I don't have perfectly symmetrical eyes, so I don't really mind.

 

Day 3 - when I wanted to wash my hair - I used plastic sheet and tape it to my forehead because we are not supposed to let the eyebrows be in contact with water for at least a week -- lol.

Day 4 - the 'cake' is starting to crack. UGLY! You need fillers and this time your eyebrow pencil comes in handy.

DAY 5 - the cracks were more prominent - this is when the 'cake' is shed and the ink is already absorbed by the skin. Looks and fell like a snake shedding its skin at this point!

SUPER UGLY DAY 6 - As expected, it did not turn out 'balanced' after the first session, hence we need the second touch-up session.

CLOSE-UP of the cracked brow cakes. I call them cake cos they feel like mud that stick on your brows and feel cakey.

DAY 8

DAY 10 after first session - THE 'CAKE' Layer is gone - the colour is kinda bland, but hubby likes it, so did my younger bro - but when I stepped into the salon for my second touch-up, they were maybe 'pretending' to be 'appalled' by the faded colour and wanted to promote me their special FGF oil (shown in above pix of the small ampoule)

So the above showed the first session's progress from Day 1 to Day 10 - I was supposed to wait 30 days (a month) for the area to be less tender but my consultant booked me for 14 days later cos I was 'rushing' for a family portrait photoshoot in mid-June, hence I went ahead with my second session early June, barely two weeks after my first session, and I still feel a bit sore on my brows!!!

Immediately after the second session - they didn't look too thick the second time round.

DAY 5 AFTER SECOND SESSION (I peeled off the cake this time, and did not stupidly wait for 7 days before washing my brows/let water touch my brows)

BEFORE

End Result - AFTER TWO SESSIONS

So how was it? PAINFUL? STINGS? TICKLES?

The first time round, I told my consultant I don't wanna feel pain, so he applied the numbing cream twice, which took 10 minutes each time to 'set'. So the first session was virtually painless, save for the slight sting towards the end of that one hour when the numbing cream effects are starting to wear off.

The second time round, as I didn't wait one month for the next session, I went there on Day 15, it was still sore and tender so it hurt till tears fell down naturally. The second session's specialist is gentle and very attentive to my reaction and he did all he could to make it less painful so it was bearable, maybe men in the beauty industry really are more attentive to women compared to a woman-to-woman.

SO HOW PAINFUL WAS THE PAIN?
I do pluck my brows for trimming purposes since my teens, hence the pain is somewhere in between the first time you plucked your brow (which will cause your tears to fall unknowingly) and the usual plucking pain. Still bearable. I heard that the pain that comes with eye-liner tattooing is WORSE! You can read more about it HERE, that blog post made me decided NOT to go to Bluunis.

The first time round it was okay for me, and different individuals have different pain threshold, so I suggest you go for the double layer of numbing cream like what I had the first time round! And don't go back too soon for the second touch-up, some centres even ask you to return within a week, that's too soon! Wait at least 30 days before your next touch-up session.

What I've learned is that it doesn't matter what you do, just trust your instincts.

They tried to sell me a nearly RM400 set of ampoules FGF which is supposed to be called Gold Feathers whatever it is called, award winning product, and the consultant in the second session showed me the print-out on A4 sized paper in a clear holder, and I checked out the ingredients - main ingredients are jojoba oil and tocopherol - which I remembered as the scientific name of Vitamin E.

So I decided NOT to buy despite their pushy sales pitch and made a mental note to drop by a pharmacy on the way home to buy Vitamin E serum. I saved myself RM400 on that extraneous award-winning-ampoule and bought myself a RM30 Vitamin E serum, which worked just as well. I also thank my common knowledge of scientific terms to be able to identify Vitamin E in its chemical compound form. lol.

I will NOT go back there for other stuff from now until 2013 simply because it is a good 30-minute drive on clear traffic - quite far from my place. I will definitely return two years later for my touch-up, which I expect to have a second touch-up, and will finally use up my remaining two sessions that I have pre-purchased.

I am quite satisfied with my brows now. I have bangs/fringes, so my hair usually covers my brows, but you can see the shape through the fringes, and the compliments so far are consistent : They look natural. Yeah, they don't look too dark or fake partly cos I don't allow them to stay on for too long after the second session and I peeled the cake off on Day 5... lol.

The funny thing was, during the first few days after the first session, the 'cake' got too thick and I had difficulty frowning cos it was too tight and it hurts to frown. The second time round, I didn't allow the cake to be too dry cos I washed my brow area on Day 3, so it softened and didn't cause me discomfort with my facial expressions with my brows.

It definitely was a brow raising experience, I have a phobia towards needles but in the name of beauty, anything goes (but not to the more invasive ones with shots/surgery). Not at this point, and hubby does not mind how I look as old age is imminent, and he means it. I love you, hubby! :p

Part 1: Brow Raising Experience - My Adventure of a 2-year-investment EyeBrow Tender Treatment (similar to embroidery but NOT tattoo)

I have always envied people with well-shaped and also well-defined eyebrows.

My brow arches are fine, I pluck/shape my own brows but over the years, having to pencil in the colour on a daily basis to have a better-defined pair of brows got to me, so I started exploring some semi-permanent options... means it will stay there for a year or two then fade away, won't be forever or permanently with me, that is kinda reassuring, so I started looking around on the Net and also asked around (word-of-mouth from friends and my students who have tried it before).

I've contemplated going for eyebrow tattooing then decided not to as my 'research' showed that even though it is 'permanent', after some time (some years) it will turn to bluish green - not exactly an attractive thought at all. So TATTOOING is OUT!

Then my sis-in-law on hubby's side had always perfectly drawn brows (with daily tedious drawing herself) until she decided to take a leap of faith and endured a week of Crayon Shin Chan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayon_Shin-chan eyebrows through Eyebrow Embroidery, and then emerged a beautiful set of eyebrows from the week-long caterpillar-like-brows. Eyebrow Embroidery is a different technique compared to tattooing and takes a different training/set of skills to perform.

I brought up the subject to hubby but he was like - your brows are fine! Then I just kept quiet and continued drawing my brows again for another year or so.

Finally, earlier this year after Chinese New Year 2011, I decided to continue with my 'research' on eyebrow embroidery.


I found this link:  http://www.womensbeautymag.com/eyebrows-embroidery-versus-eyebrows-tattoos.html
"Differences Eyebrows Embroidery and Eyebrows Tattoo

• From the Process:
  Eyebrow embroidery using a special tool in the form of a small pen to create lines resembling the original eyebrow hair, while tattoos eyebrows using a machine normally used to make a tattoo on body.
• Results eyebrows embroidery more natural and does not seem like a patch or rigid, while the tattoo eyebrow shape is very artificial.
• Tattoos embroidery use dyes that are relatively harmless to the body, so that it can cause side effects that often occur, such as swelling on the skin surface.
• Over time, eyebrows tattoos can change color to blue-green or gray. Eyebrow embroidery is not the case. Over the past 3-4 years are eyebrow embroidery color will slowly fade away until finally lose, and it’s time for you to re-touch or embroidered eyebrows again. This condition is ideal, given in a matter of knowing the future condition of our skin elasticity changes, as well as with the trend, so that can be embroidered eyebrow re-shape and adapted to existing conditions."
 

I decided why not? I searched around for a good deal in town (Klang Valley area) and my search brought me to this deal on mydeal.com.my, which marked my first purchase from the groupon-similar-website of good deals in Malaysia.

The offer on mydeal which made me one of the 38 'unsuspecting' customers who bought the RM99 voucher for eyebrow tender session (they claimed it's more natural than eyebrow embroidery)

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2.....

This is another sickening post - as in love sick, literally sick and ill, or plain mind sick. :-)

This pix was taken in 2009 by my 2.0MP Nokia 3500 Camera Phone.. I'm so proud of it. 

Please attribute it to suesanctuary.blogspot.com if you need to copy it. Thank you.

This is another sickening post - as in love sick, literally sick and ill, or plain mind sick. :-)

The air quality in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the capital city of Malaysia has been bad lately, it has gone from bad to worse and the worst is yet to come. We have been not having that much rain in the past one month or so, and over this part of the world, it's either sunshine or rain, and you need a balance of both or else it will definitely cause havoc to our body system with either too much heat (sore throat, fever) or too much rain (cold, fever). Yeah.. that's why paracetamol brand Panadol is the best seller here, we get fever either way.

Let's take for example, last Friday, my friends from Singapore (South to KL) and Penang (North to KL) came for a visit, they actually could still see the Petronas Twin Towers, the landmark of Malaysia, and Kuala Lumpur Towers, albeit they could already see the bad air quality, it was really hazy!!! However, that was nothing compared to the deteriorating air quality due to a lack of rain, on Monday, when they left KL, the Twin Towers have gone from hazy to almost greyish, and by the time of this post, it has actually gone grey-black due to the air quality, that is if you view it from 10km away.  It's horrible!

Hence everyone around me is either sick or beginning to fall sick, throat itchy, cough, cold, flu, fever, sore throat, eye redness/irritation, allergies, and the list goes on.

Hubby and I both succumbed to the heat and bad air quality a few weeks back, and it has gone worse as the rain continues to be absent.

Anyway, seeing hubby so sick, and I'm nursing a horrible sore throat (3 weeks and counting), on my 3rd course of antibiotics and voice totally gone due to the swelling -- we are both on MC (medical leave) today but he's working from home, I'm online checking work emails -- seeing him trying to talk with his razor sharp throat pain and suppressing his cough while video conferencing broke a string in my heart, and then pride came as I know this is a responsible man who takes anything he takes on seriously, his job, his family, and most of all, his responsibility to me, his wife. I'm a lucky woman. With that note, I'll end this post and nurse my illness and his by resting, yeah, like real rest from talking and sitting up.

Oh yeah, it does rain.. like for three to five minutes and more like sprinkles more than downpour. A few drops and that's it!!! We need real rain!!!

My friend from hometown tells me they have been having heavy rain lately, and so did Penang, and so did Singapore... so what's wrong with KL? NO rain at all?!?

I think I'd better learn how to do the rain dance from the Native Americans.

Arowana Beauty Spa, Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur - Review from Voucher purchased from MyDeal.com.my

Opening Pix: Arowana Beauty Spa, Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur

So I first started 'meddling' with groupon-similar-website: mydeal.com.my and chanced upon this deal earlier this year and purchased two vouchers, one for me and one for my mother, since the validity was until 31st Aug 2011, so I went ahead and said "Why Not?"

The original print-out of the ad.
Cool eh?

I was mostly motivated by the cheap offer, and two hours of treatment of face and body for only RM35!!!

I thought it would be a good Mother's Day treat for my mum and me, and it's quite near where I stay in Kuala Lumpur, so I joined the hundreds of others who purchased the voucher.

The young pretty manager, Wanie, who is a mother to a 9-month-old baby girl (age of baby as of June 2011).

 The view from outside the outlet. Everything is see-through so no hanky-panky going on.

 Some of the current promotions printed on the bunting outside the shop.

Aromatherapy - this is one of the decors in the inner half of the outlet - the face and body treatment area.

My mum and I enjoyed our two-hour-facial and body treatment tremendously! So I decided I would become a returning customer after finding out they NOT ONLY PROVIDE BODY AND FACIAL TREATMENTS, they also DO YOUR HAIR!!! Talk about complete package!!!

AFTER FIRST VISIT (after using MyDeal Voucher) - as a Returning Customer:

Hence, I went back to Arowana Beauty Spa again two weeks later for my hair rebonding (straightening) treatment on 31st May 2011 - I took advantage of the May promotion. Spent five hours and 30 minutes (inclusive of hair treatment & wash and blow) for my long hair.  Results: Please read on/scroll down.

Arowana Beauty Spa is also the official distributor of the France beauty line: Sans Dynamic in the Klang Valley area.

Ala carte prices of some of the treatments on offer - they have monthly promotions, so be on the look out for that!

 Up to June 30th, 2011 - you get Traditional Massage + Ear Candling for only RM79.90 (90 mins),
Bird's Nest Face Spa for RM98 for first trial (90 mins),
Body Scrub + Infrared Sauna RM69.90 (60 mins),
FOR HAIR:
Rebonding (Long Hair) - RM158 for a package of rebonding (straightening), free hair treatment, free hair cut and free hair vitamin, totally worth it!!!

For hair colour (any length), you only need to pay RM118 for hair colouring and it comes with free hair treatment.

Promotion valid until 30 June 2011.

If you miss June, there's always July promotion! ;)

 
You know how the Japanese/Korean horror movies feature women/girls who have silky straight hair? Or the Malay Pontianak/vampire with long straight hair? I've always wanted to have that and I finally got it! hahaha.. jokes aside, I love my hair now! Of course, I won't be going around to scare people with a red or white long gown every night. Hehe.

I'm very happy with my hair - Satisfied with their hair services, I then purchased the members-only offer for BUY FIVE wash and blow with serum treatment and get THREE for FREE at RM150.

They have Gold Membership (one type of membership only at the moment) for only RM30 for lifetime membership, and you get a one-year-validity of many vouchers/members-only offer that you can purchase anytime from now to next year. I plan to use the body massage/treatment voucher and my mother can use it as well, we can always go together - oh Yes, it is transferable as long as you make prior appointment!!! If it's your birthday month, you get extra discounts as well!!!

The map to go to the place on the right.

Address:
Arowana Beauty Spa
328 (Ground Floor), Jalan Negara,
Melawati Square,
Taman Melawati,
53100 Kuala Lumpur
(Behind Bank Rakyat Taman Melawati Branch),
If you're coming from the opposite direction of Bank Rakyat, then you'll see Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN/NRD) branch office first.

Call 019-2226825 or 03-41086825 for appointment.

This is not an advertorial - I wasn't paid anything, what I have gained is good service from very friendly women staff who love what they do best - to make other women look and feel good. :-) Update 2012: http://suesanctuary.blogspot.com/2012/03/hair-rebonding-2012.html

De Asian Cafe - Malaysian Flavours Delights - Opened June 1st, 2011

So I was passing by Jalan Danau Niaga (a short cut from Genting Kelang that cuts all the way across to Jalan Langkawi) on Sunday night and saw this new eatery that has just opened and I was attracted to it, keeping in mind to try it out some day.

That 'some day' happened to be the very next Monday, where I had a date with Mary, my old pal that I've not seen for nearly 12 years. We didn't wanna go to the more congested areas, due to lack of parking lots and also having to wait for tables so we decided to check out this new place.

OUR HAPPY FACES - we look good in the pix, hence it made it to my blog. :-)

Love the cool mirror lights effects!!!

It changes colours!

It gives you a 3-D effect.

Red, my fav colour! :-)

We decided to take a look at the outdoor while we waited for our food (which wasn't long to arrive at our table).

 Pix Above: What I ordered, Sliced Chicken Ipoh Kuey Teow (Chinese thick vermicelli) Soup -- before I stirred the soup.

You can see the vermicelli more clearly in the shot above.

 What Mary ordered - Fried Kway Teow which she has not tasted in EIGHT years!!! (She is craving so much for Malaysian food that anything goes!!!)

 Mary is a happy camper with her cockels. A rare treat as she hadn't tasted it in 8 years!

Cockels up close.

 Photography session with the ABC (shaved ice dessert).

They are having a promotion now (not sure till when), to celebrate its new opening - every meal comes with a free selected drink, hence the RM0.00 for the fresh lemon honey and the lime juice.

 Mary and I - the reason it made it here is cos it's blur.. ;-)

 The Restaurant Manager of de Asian Cafe - his name is Dante.

Personal rating: Food 7.5 out of 10
Ambience/decor/environment: 8 out of 10
Value for money: 8 out of 10
Competitors: Old Town White Coffee, Pappa Rich, and similar franchise outlets.
Smoking and Non-Smoking Sections: Yes for both
They even have a huge area for big groups exceeding 10 persons.

Their address:
De Asian Cafe, 22A Jalan Danau Niaga, Taman Danau Kota, Genting Kelang, Kuala Lumpur. Phone no: 012-9612000 (Andrew, person in-charge)

THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTORIAL, it's a new place, so just figured it'd do them justice for some extra publicity.